Sasuke decided to use the situation he now found himself in to his advantage.
No, he did not want to be tree hopping with the old Team 7, sans Kakashi. No, he did not want to listen to the incessant chatter as the blond and the pinkette caught up. No, he did not want to face the reality that both bonds he had with his teammates were not as fragile as he led himself to believe.
Wasn't it enough emotional development for him to admit the bonds weren't totally severed in the first place?
What had he done that was so terrible to deserve this? He stopped himself, because he had actually done a lot of terrible things and deserved a lot worse than this.
Regardless, an opportunity presented itself for him to distract Naruto with Sakura while he got Orochimaru to summon the former Hokage.
He just needed an errand to send Sakura on, and then insist Naruto go with her to keep her safe. Easy.
He thought for a moment of what he could ask them to do that would keep them away long enough.
He fought a yawn as he realized just how tired he was. Surely Sakura was exhausted as well, right?
An idea pieced together in his mind. He needed a task that would get them just far enough away that Sakura would deem it necessary to pause to rest. Maybe he could even insist she sleep before returning when he asked her to go on his errand.
Perhaps it was best that he rest too, even for a few hours. He needed to be fully alert when he brought out Orochimaru from Anko.
He thought of the former bases of Orochimaru's that were nearby. He didn't want to lie to Sakura, so he needed a plan that was as close to the truth as possible. Orochimaru had many artifacts and scrolls that could prove useful to him. He knew of one base in particular that should work. It should still have rooms they could use to rest in too.
The trio finally stopped four hours later.
Sasuke went to speak, but bit his tongue and had to reevaluate when he saw how weary Sakura was. She hadn't said a word while they traveled. He felt a sudden pang of guilt for not checking on her more closely.
They wordlessly began to set up camp, assuming roles and tasks much as they had as genin.
Sasuke chewed over his options while they worked. He decided to speak once they all sat down tiredly to eat, "Sakura, Naruto, there's something else I need you to get for me."
Sakura looked up from her food, purple bags under her eyes, "What do you need Sasuke?"
He gave her a gentle look, "I need a scroll from one of Orochimaru's former bases near here, but I want you to go after you rest."
Sakura smiled at him, grateful for his consideration.
"Why do I need to go," Naruto questioned after slurping down his mouthful of noodles, "Sakura can handle herself; it's just one measly scroll."
Sasuke glared at him, "She's not fully recovered from the last few days, and Madara is after the two of us. One of us should be there to back her up."
Sakura unsuccessfully fought a blush from creeping over her cheeks. She would have been incensed, and nearly was when it sounded like Sasuke was insinuating she could not perform the task alone, except he chose to say Naruto was going as her 'back up.' She was beyond thrilled that he not only acknowledged she could fulfill this task on her own, but also spoke aloud his desire to see her safe from Madara by sending Naruto as back up.
Naruto accepted Sasuke's explanation without further questions much to Sasuke's relief. The old Team 7 settled in for some shut eye.
Naruto was not nearly as exhausted as his teammates, but he didn't mind the rest after his long road of recovery and training the past three or so months.
He had awoken from his fight with Sasuke to find himself alone. He knew Sasuke was unconscious before he passed out, and for a moment, Naruto wondered if Sasuke knew that this meant their fight was a draw.
Now Naruto knew winning this fight wasn't the point; getting through his best friend's thick skull was the most important thing. But it was hard to stop himself from thinking things like winning a contest of prowess against his rival. Old habits die hard and all.
He remembered thinking back then, soaked from the gentle rain and in pain, that maybe this time, he had finally gotten through to Sasuke.
That strange thing had happened again when their final attacks connected. They spoke somehow without words, and Naruto had felt his friend was wavering.
Naruto frowned, thinking about how he had still been disappointed to find out Sasuke left him there on the battlefield, but tried now as he had then not to take it personally.
He had recovered a little slower than normal (his kind of normal at least), so he hadn't noticed anything strange at first.
He was found by Leaf shinobi, and he didn't even question them when they took him to a hospital outside the village. He then went right from the private hospital room, with no windows, to training with Killer B. In hindsight, he should have found it suspicious.
Naruto had known he still had to get stronger just in case Sasuke needed a second final fight to finish working through his hatred.
What he didn't know until the last few days was that Tsunade had kept the discovery of finding him from the Allied Army and his location while training was highly classified. His friends hadn't known he was alright this whole time!
His clones had spent almost as much time fighting the enemy as they did talking to and comforting his friends. Before he left to meet up with Sasuke and Sakura, he had made sure his clone at HQ knew to chastise the Kage Council for keeping his status a secret.
He dosed off fitfully, talking to Kurama one moment, dreaming of his parents the next, and then waking with a start to make sure Sasuke and Sakura were really still with him.
He was glad when they woke up from their rest as well.
Sakura fussed over Anko, making sure Sasuke knew how to properly take care of her, and then fussed over Naruto, making sure they had everything they needed for this little trip.
Sasuke gave them some final directions, thanking them again, and assuring them this really was the last thing that he needed for whatever he was doing.
It was really weird for Naruto, watching the two of them interact so closely. They took any opportunity to brush hands or shoulders. It nearly floored Naruto to hear Sasuke say, 'thank you.'
Whatever it was Sakura had done to him, Naruto really wished she would have done it sooner. This polite and gentle Sasuke would have been so much easier to deal with.
Sakura and Naruto set off, picking up their earlier conversation where they had left off. There was so much to catch up on in the others' life that all they had missed.
Naruto didn't realize how bad things had gotten on the battlefield as he listened to her stories.
Sakura was so surprised that Naruto knew who both of his parents were now. She expressed her condolences too. She listened carefully as Naruto described his new relationship with Kurama, not convinced the fox was really his friend now.
Naruto tried to cheer Kurama up when he sensed the fox was hurt by Sakura's doubt.
Sakura also sadly caught him up on the casualties. She said it was a miracle they hadn't lost any of their age mates.
She was saddened to tell him though how Shino was hurt so badly she thought she was going to lose him. She managed to stabilize him somehow, despite the raging battle around her, and got him to safety. She said the medics at the back had to amputate his legs despite her best effort to save them. Shino likely would never be a ninja again.
Naruto frowned, realizing none of his clones had come across the insect user. Now he knew why. He tried to think over any other missing faces as he kept listening.
Lee had been critically injured early on, but he had made a full recovery and rejoined the fighting a month after he was hurt.
Tenten, Choji, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba sustained minor injuries, some of them more than once. Sakura hadn't overseen the treatment of all their injuries herself, but she had made it a point to keep tabs on all of them as much as she could.
Naruto hung his head, ashamed that all of that happened to his friends without him even knowing they were in danger.
"It's not your fault Naruto," Sakura said softly, reassuring him, "We would have put ourselves in danger again a thousand times over because we were fighting this war against Akatsuki to protect you. You are precious to us."
Sakura looked away, smiling bitterly, "Even when some of us started to think you died in your fight with Sasuke, the possibility of you being out there somewhere kept us going. Shino sacrificed his legs after that point; he didn't even hesitate, even if you were really dead."
Naruto felt tears welling up in his eyes, and he worked to keep them at bay. He would make sure not another hair on their heads was sacrificed for him if he had anything to say about it.
They continued in silence for a while, over halfway from the base they were headed to now.
Naruto had intended to make a clone periodically to gather nature energy and check for Madara, but he was distracted by the information Sakura was giving him.
Little did Naruto know, but Tobi/Madara/Nobody/Obito had reappeared not far from them, in a base of his own.